EPA takes aim at Obama-era regulation of mercury at coal plants

Posted - December 31 201817:14

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EPA takes aim at Obama-era regulation of mercury at coal plants

The Trump administration will consider abolishing a regulation that has helped to dramatically reduce mercury pollution from coal-fired power stations, saying the costs outweigh the health benefits. The rule places limits on the amount of mercury that a power plant can emit.

The agency's reassessment of an earlier 2016 endorsement showed that complying with MATS cost the government between $7.4 billion to $9.6 billion (€6.5 billion to €8.4 billion) every year, but only brought in up to $6 million in measurable health benefits.

The Environmental Protection Agencyannounced Friday that it was proposing new rules regarding the regulation of hazardous air pollutants, potentially making way for fewer restrictions on various pollutants in the future. The Obama administration estimated that the measure would prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths from asthma, other respiratory diseases or heart attacks. "The misguided proposed changes leave MATS legally vulnerable and foolishly make it harder to strengthen mercury pollution reduction standards in the future to better protect children's and women's health, and Great Lakes fisheries".

A proposal Friday from the Environmental Protection Agency challenges the basis for the Obama regulation.

In a statement, the EPA said Friday the administration was "providing regulatory certainty" by more accurately estimating the costs and benefits of the Obama administration crackdown on mercury and other toxic emissions from smokestacks.

The Trump administration Friday announced a plan created to make it easier for coal-fired power plants, after almost a decade of restrictions, to once again release mercury and other pollutants linked to developmental disorders and respiratory illnesses into the atmosphere.

Trump's industry allies, including Robert Murray, CEO of private coal mining giant Murray Energy Corp, had complained that the MATS rule contributed to the demise of the coal business by triggering hundreds of coal-fired power plant shutdowns and driving coal demand to its lowest in decades.

A proposal by acting EPA Administrator, Andrew R. Wheeler, signed yesterday and submitted by the the EPA would lay the ground work for repealing Mercury and Air Toxics Standards first enacted in 2011 according to the New York Times.

US coal-fired power generation has fallen more than 40 percent since a peak in 2007, while natural gas-fired generation soared by about the same amount, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The proposal will be up for 60 days of public comment before a final ruling goes into effect.

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It noted that both Syria and Egypt aim to reactivate the Syrian-Egyptian relations first and the Arab relations in general. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are leading regional efforts to counter what they see as Iran's growing influence in the region.

Skipper Kohli and Pujara then took control over the proceedings denying the hosts any more success in the final session. He slogswept Lyon for six after the drinks break before eventually falling to Cummins at 123 for two.

Ravindra Jadeja also returned with excellent figures of 3/82 while Ishant and Mohammed Shami chipped in with two wickets each. So regardless of it being the last Test match, he will be willing to push himself and start for the team.

Christianson said that Arriaga had multiple Facebook accounts under different names, and was a self-professed gangster. Other officers discovered Singh shot and took him to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Right now, National Football League teams are viewing Murray as a first-round selection. "That falls on all of us", Riley said. I feel like we've started to... we kinda started out a few years ago saying, hey, we've gotta be more current.

At The Baltimore Sun , for example, the usual comics and puzzles were not included in Saturday's print edition, the paper tweeted. A Tribune Publishing spokesperson didn't confirm the ransomware infection, but did say the incident was caused by "malware".

Delays were expected for fans who were headed to the Big Bash cricket match at the nearby Spotless Stadium on December 24. A half-mile exclusion zone has been established around the building while water and gas services have been shut off.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud signs documents during the 2019 budget meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The decree also said that the country is establishing a national space agency to be headed up by Sultan bin Salman.

Trump also suggested the sizes of the raises secured under his Administration have been larger than they actually were. First time in 10 years", he said. "40% of the Germans want us out of Germany for god's sake".

Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said 168 deaths and 745 injured have been confirmed so far and another 30 people are missing.

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